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Resolutions All Small Business Owners Should Make In 2014

If the New Year was all about new beginnings, why is it that so many of us make the same old resolutions over and over? While renewing the long-expired gym membership or covering ourselves with a second skin of nicotine patches, we’re so high on hope that we’re completely blind to the other areas of our lives that could use a fresh perspective.

Maybe you’ve created a strategic plan in the past but just didn’t see the v

alue. If that’s the case, take a new approach this year. Keep your focus narrow. Perhaps just focus on how your business is going to achieve your Commander’s Intent. Then, rather than creating a plan & filing it away somewhere, put an appointment on your calendar at least one time per month – preferably more often – to review how you’re doing against your plan. Share the plan with your staff. Taking the time to think through your strategies and tactics for achieving your business of the business and committing to getting it done will go a long way towards achieving your Personal Vision of Success.

Every reputable business has a mission statement. It’s the message that lays out your principles and guides your actions. But how does your company’s mission statement align with your own goals? It’s hard to say until you’ve crafted your own personal vision of success.

Think of your personal vision of success as the mission statement you’ll use to shape your own choices and strategies. Ask yourself what success means to you. Will you measure your success by how early you can retire, or how much money you get when you sell the business? Will you measure it by the number of influential products you’ve launched or jobs you’ve created? Will you know you’ve finally “made it” when you’re able to set up a scholarship foundation or fly your family around the world?

There’s no “right” vision of success, but once you lay yours out in terms of concrete, measurable goals you’ll have a clearer focus and be able to align your business plans towards a greater purpose. That sense of purpose is powerful and you’ll be amazed at how it can transform your approach.

2.Learn to Communicate the Commander’s Intent

In the 1980s, the U.S. Army adopted a strategy which they came to call the “Commander’s Intent” (or CI). This system was created to cut down on needless communication, to save time and to make sure that every man in the field was focused on attaining the same objective. There’s a lot that entrepreneurs can learn from this method. In their book, Made to Stick, Chip and Dan Heath explain what a CI is and why it’s so effective:

“Commander’s Intent manages to align the behavior of soldiers at all levels without requiring play-by-play instructions from their leaders. When people know the desired destinations, they’re free to improvise, as needed, in arriving there.”

Just like war, commerce is unpredictable. Threats can change and previous plans can be rendered obsolete. That’s why it’s important to use your own kind of Commander’s Intent every time you communicate with your partners and employees. The goal here is to focus on the end destination, instead of the path one should take to get there.

So in 2014, when you’re crafting a quarterly newsletter or sales strategy, try boiling down your ideas to one, clear and simple statement. Use a template like this one: “The single most important thing we must accomplish is ____.” Front-load each communication with your Commander’s Intent statement. When your intent is clear, your team will function more smoothly (and you may even find that they achieve goals in surprising, innovative ways).

3.Revamp (or Create) Your Strategic Plan

When was the last time you took a serious, critical look at your strategic plan? If you’re like most business owners, it’s probably long overdue. Luckily, the new year is a perfect time to think about your company’s goals and how you plan to achieve them.

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